


Describing Colors to a Blind Man

by EchoesofMemory



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Enjoy!, Forgive Me, Gen, Meta? Possibly?, Non-Romance, i don't know what happened, idk - Freeform, it just occurred to me, this happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 09:05:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7612054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoesofMemory/pseuds/EchoesofMemory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sisters realize Max knows a little about Before.</p><p>Shenanigans and confusion ensue.</p><p>How do you describe colors to someone who has never seen them?</p><p>How do you describe a world so far from what it is now to someone who has no frame of reference?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Describing Colors to a Blind Man

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from something that occurred to me and has been bothering me ever since.
> 
> How do you describe colors to someone who has never seen them? Who has no frame of reference? The only words you have to describe them are words they cannot relate to.
> 
> WHY DOES THIS BOTHER ME?
> 
> It spawned a story idea. (Why brain.)

Max stood at the top of the Citadel, staring out at the barren wasteland the world had become. Vaguely, in the far reaches of his mind, he could remember a time when this desert wasteland had been the Outback - not that there was a lot of difference.

There had been less sand, then, and a few bushes.

But the heat was the same, as was the emptiness, and really, all that mattered was now.

Now, with raiders, and water, and hope for the future.

Max sensed something shift in the air, and turned back to the doorway, a couple of seconds before Toast stepped out.

Her eyebrows were raised, but thankfully she just sighed and said, “We were wondering where you went.”

A small surge of guilt had Max shifting. He had returned less than a week later, bringing the cars that had survived the canyon, as well as the Doof Warrior and the few War Boys who had felt they could live under Furiosa’s rule. (About halfway back, they started calling her She-Who-Conquered-The-Redeemer, the Doof Warrior had started writing songs, and Max felt the urge to punch something.)

Capable had nearly strangled Max with a hug after he had shown her a very beaten but still alive Nux. He would live, but had lost two fingers off one hand and would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.

Furiosa had been happy, in her own way, unused to showing affection. (To be fair, Max acknowledged, he had nearly thrown tiny Cheedo into a wall the first time she had hugged him.)

Max looked back at Toast and let out a small grunt, shifting over so she could join him. She took his nearly silent offer, and looked out at the wasteland.

“Sometimes,” she said, “I wonder what it was like before. When this wasn’t all sand baked to nearly unbearable by the sun.”

Max shifted, then said, “Was flat. Occasionally, uh, scrub brush. Pretty empty, though.”

Toast looked at him quickly, then back at the desert. “I can’t even begin to picture it.”

Max shrugged and fell silent. The pair sat in companionable silence, watching over the sweep from the Citadel, before Toast sighed and shifted.

“Furiosa sent me to find you,” she told him. “She wants to know if you’ll keep track of what you find out there and let her know. The Vuvalini have been sharing their lore, and the Dag thinks she can start taking back land from the desert. If she can, if there’s something we can do to help…”

Toast hesitated.

Max grunted and shifted. “Want me to share.”

She nodded, then tilted her head back. “It’s nearly lunch time.”

Max grunted again and settled back against the ledge he’d been using as a seat. Toast sighed, shook her head and left.

\--

Nux found him still there three hours later. He handed over water and stew, smiling at Max’s quiet, “Thanks.”

“Toast told me where to find you,” he remarked. “She also mentioned you remember before. What was it like?”

Max paused in his eating long enough to indicate he’d talk after eating, then continued.

Nux sat on the ground by the ledge and remarked, “No one’s going to attack you if you join us in the mess hall. Even the Sisters go, and they still jump when a War Boy lands in front of them.”

Max nudged him with his foot and gave him a dark look. Nux just shrugged.

“It’d be easier on us all, if you did.”

Max finished and set the bowl aside, leaning forward to brace his elbows on his knees. “Toast, mmh, said she couldn’t picture it. It, ah, was too strange to her.”

Nux tilted back to look at him. “I’d like to try, just the same.”

Max sighed. “It, it wasn’t all green. It was more brown, than green.”

“Better than orange and yellow, I bet,” Nux muttered, and Max inclined his head.

“True. There were, uh, creatures. They were… strange, I suppose.”

Nux frowned. “How?”

“There were birds. Big’ns. They, uh, couldn’t fly, but could run.”

Nux actually stood at that. “There’s no need to tell tales, Max.”

Max frowned. “‘T’s the truth, Nux.”

Nux scowled and shook his head, leaving. Max sat there for a while, blinking before picking up the bowl and wandering off to find the dish drop off.

\--

Furiosa found him lurking in the gardens near dinnertime. “You know, we turn on the watering system while we’re at dinner.”

Max jumped, then turned around with a sheepish look, clutching the gift he’d brought her. He’d already distributed the others.

Furiosa had been leading a raid, and now her eyes widened at the sight of the book he held. “What is…?”

His shoulders hunched. “I, ah, found a library. Most of the, uh, books were, were gone. This one was still there.”

And with that, he handed it over. It was a book on plants, and desert greening. He’d looked through it and had been surprised at how useful it had been.

Now that he thought about it, that’s probably why it had been left.

Furiosa was silent as she gently stroked it. “Max… thank you.”

He smiled at her, and headed for the door. While he had figured correctly she’d find him here, he didn’t actually want a watering system bath.

\--

Capable was sitting at a table in the mess hall when Furiosa entered, dragging Max behind her. She waved them over, making sure Max sat between the two women.

She leaned close and said, “Why were you teasing Nux, Max?”

Max frowned. “Wasn’t teasing.”

Furiosa found herself intrigued and nudged him. “What happened?”

“Told him about ostriches. Said I was lying.”

Capable was frowning now too. “What’s an ostrich?”

Furiosa spread her hands. “The Many Mothers occasionally talked about Old World animals. I think that was one of them.”

Max sighed. “‘T’s a big bird. Big enough to ride.”

Capable blinked. “Really?”

He nodded. “I’ll, ah, try to find a book with ‘em.”

Capable and Furiosa nodded, accepting this.

\--

The next day, Max was working on the Interceptor. It was in good shape, overall, but he wanted to check the pistons on the engine over, just in case.

While he was working, a group of War Pups and Blackthumbs were nearby, whispering.

“You ask him!”

“It was your idea!”

Max pulled himself out of the hood with a sigh. “What?”

One young Pup hesitated, then moved forward boldly. “What were the cars like, Before?”

He sat back against the hood and tilted his head. “We, ah, we had buses. Big, big cars. Designed to move people.”

“Chrome,” one of the Pups exclaimed. “Was it for War?”

Max shook his head. “Just for getting around.”

The entire group went silent, then someone asked, “But why?”

Max shrugged. “Made it easier to get around the, mmh, cities. Too many cars, ah, made it slow.”

The group split after that, talking about what he had shared, a few giving him weird looks.

Max decided it was time to go.

\--

The Sisters caught up with him as he was loading the last of his belongings into the Interceptor. Capable pressed provisions into his hands and the Dag gave him seeds and seedlings to trade.

Toast smiled at him and said, “I’ll miss you, even if you don’t make sense.”

Max looked at them, and responded, “I, ah, figured. You, you ever try to explain colors to the Doof Warrior?”

The Sisters shared a look and Cheedo said hesitantly, “Coma? No. It would be pointless. Right?”

Max nodded. “Yeah. That’s what, uh, explaining Before is like.”

They all looked surprised. “Oh!”

Capable nodded suddenly. “Be safe, then, Max. Bring back seeds and books, if you can.”

Max nodded, and slid into the Interceptor, ready to head back into the wastes.

**Author's Note:**

> *flops* How does one people? Especially people like Max.
> 
> Sorry for any weirdness.
> 
> Does this even make sense????
> 
> *flails*


End file.
